punish

verb

pun·​ish ˈpə-nish 

punished; punishing; punishes

transitive verb

1

a

: to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation

b

: to inflict a penalty for the commission of (an offense) in retribution or retaliation

2

a

: to deal with roughly or harshly

b

: to inflict injury on : hurt

intransitive verb

: to inflict punishment

punishability

ˌpə-nish-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

punishable

ˈpə-nish-ə-bəl 

adjective

punisher noun

Synonyms

• castigate
• chasten
• chastise
• correct
• discipline
• penalize

Choose the Right Synonym for punish

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing.

punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.

punished for stealing

chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.

chastised his son for neglecting his studies

castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.

an editorial castigating the entire city council

chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.

chastened by a landslide election defeat

discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.

parents must discipline their children

correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.

the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

Examples of punish in a Sentence

I think that murderers should be punished by life imprisonment.

She was punished for lying.

His parents punished him by taking away his allowance.

How should I punish my child's misbehavior?

State law punishes fraud with fines.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sanchez Vazquez had faced two felony rape charges, but in Idaho, the lewd conduct felonies can be punished with harsher minimum prison sentences. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 23 Apr. 2024

Only an employer’s pattern of punishing an employee for ignoring such communications would violate the measure. —Dan Eaton, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024

Ivica Zubac was big for the Clippers in the first half, punishing the Mavericks for 12 of his playoff-career-high 20 points to go along with 15 rebounds. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024

Los Angeles scrapped out a 60-57 lead at halftime thanks to James’ buzzer-beating three — but the only reason the Nuggets hadn’t taken over was that their shooters weren’t punishing double-teams of Jokic. —Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2024

The Giants’ only bright spot was a home run by Jorge Soler, who punished one 410 feet to left field for his fourth home run of the year. —Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024

In a statement Friday evening, Simmons said O’Hare has a habit of attempting to punish commissioners who vote or speak out against abuses. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Apr. 2024

The punishing actions were announced as foreign ministers from G7 nations, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, gathered in Italy. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024

Fischer contends that law aimed to punish the destruction of documents. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English punisshen, from Anglo-French puniss-, stem of punir, from Latin punire, from poena penalty — more at pain entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

punish

verb

pun·​ish ˈpən-ish 

1

: to cause to experience pain or suffering for having done wrong

punish criminals with imprisonment

2

: to inflict punishment for

punish misbehavior

3

: to deal with or handle severely or roughly

badly punished by an opponent

punishable

-ə-bəl 

adjective

punisher noun

Legal Definition

punish

transitive verb

pun·​ish ˈpə-nish 

1

: to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation

2

: to inflict a penalty for the commission of (an offense) in retribution or retaliation or as a deterrent

intransitive verb

: to inflict punishment

punishability

ˌpə-ni-shə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

punishable

ˈpə-ni-shə-bəl 

adjective

punisher noun